


Witch's Woods

by Kalcifer



Category: Soul Eater
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/F, Fantastic Racism, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Pre-Relationship, Pretty Upbeat Despite the Tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-14
Updated: 2017-07-14
Packaged: 2018-12-02 03:08:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11500506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kalcifer/pseuds/Kalcifer
Summary: Jacqueline Dupre thought that she was a perfectly ordinary girl until the day she shot fire at a would-be kidnapper. Now she's been kicked out of her house and chased out of town, forced to enter the ominous Witch's Woods to escape the mob. But if the people she's known all her life aren't as kind as she'd thought, maybe the witch isn't as scary, either.





	1. As Long As We're Going Down

**Author's Note:**

> I had the excellent luck this Reverb to be partnered with butterflydragons, who had so many amazing ideas and who I really enjoyed working with. The art that inspired this fic[ can be found here](http://butterflydragons.tumblr.com/post/162985616297/witchs-woods-jacqueline-dupre-thought-that-she), so go lavish it with all the praise it deserves.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

Jacqueline had learned at an early age that the best way to get by in life was to keep her head down and do as she was told. It was an important lesson for everyone in her town: stay at home, or travel to another town if you like, but never go into the woods. That’s where the witch lives. If you step out of bounds, she’ll catch you, and you’ll learn too late why it’s better not to ask questions.

Jacqueline was particularly good at following orders. She was well aware that her grandparents were being generous just to take her in and take care of her. She didn’t need to make them regret it by being rude and disobedient, not like her father was. It had to be hard for them as it was, having a reminder of their troublesome son living in their house.

Besides, it wasn’t like they were cruel and unreasonable. They just wanted to make sure she presented a proper image to the town. The family was wealthy and well-established, and they couldn’t let some child ruin that. She didn’t begrudge them that, any more than she minded spending her days studying music or literature or poise. It seemed a small price to pay for living in luxury as she did.

She might have liked to have more opportunities to leave the mansion, or even the town, but it was fine. She was perfectly content with the status quo. It was familiar and safe.

She probably would have stayed where she was, going through the motions of proper behavior, if she wasn’t woken up in the middle of the night with a knife at her throat.

She spent what felt like an eternity frozen before she could draw breath to scream. When she finally managed it, a hand clamped over her mouth. “Don’t get any ideas,” a rough voice whispered. “We’re just going to take you something quiet until your folks give us what we’re due. A good girl like you, they’ll give it up in no time, and then you can go back to playing with your dolls or whatever you do while us normal people are actually working for a living.”

Jacqueline could barely process what was being said. Her brain was screaming at her to do something, anything, to keep herself from getting killed. She looked around wildly for something to free herself with. Not that she knew how she’d get to it without slicing her own throat in the process. She let out an involuntary whine. It was hard to breath, and the room seemed to be growing warmer. The air pressed in on her, suffocating and scalding until she couldn’t form any coherent thoughts.

Acting on instinct, she thrust her hands out in front of her, willing everything to just go away and leave her alone. The room grew even warmer as a gout of flame flew from her outstretched palms. In the light it gave off, she could see her would-be captor, a man in grubby workman’s clothes. His eyes were wide.

Jacqueline couldn’t quite understand what was happening. As she watched, the fire shrank and died, leaving her staring at her hands in horror and confusion. She almost didn’t notice when the pressure at her throat vanished.

“No one told me you were uncanny,” the intruder mumbled. “My luck’s bad enough, I don’t need to associate with your kind. But rest assured, by tomorrow morning everyone will know that you Dupres are a bunch of freaks.”

He spat on the floor and climbed out the window, disappearing into the night. Jacqueline didn’t even think to ty and stop him. She was too busy trying not to burst into tears.

There was no way that she was actually Fey. Her grandparents were the most mundane humans she could think of. If there was a chance that she was anything but normal, they would have told her before now and given her a chance to adjust. Wouldn’t they?

Wrapped up in her own thoughts, she barely noticed when the sun rose. She wouldn’t have been able to sleep if she’d tried. She was dimly aware that she was exhausted, but she was too busy trying to adjust to the fact that her entire life was built on a lie.

She spent the rest of that day locked in her room. She couldn’t bring herself to face the world after what had happened. A servant came to check on her at one point, bringing food and her grandparents’ concern, but she just mumbled something about feeling a little sick. She didn’t need their worry on top of her own.

Her fatigue won out sometime in the late afternoon, and she slipped into a restless doze. She was thus extremely disoriented when she was shaken awake. A glance at her windows showed that it was still nighttime. She swallowed, noticing that one of the windows was still open and swaying in the breeze.

“The master and mistress wish to see you.” Jacqueline jumped at the voice, but it was just the maid who’d woken her. “You have twenty minutes to prepare, after which I will escort you to them.”

Jacqueline nodded blearily. She wasn’t sure why they had to have this conversation in the middle of night, but she did owe her grandparents an explanation. She pulled herself to her feet and threw on some clothes. She was likely to be scolded for her disheveled appearance, but her brain was moving slowly enough that putting on a shirt took half her allotted time.

Once she was halfway presentable, she stepped into the hallway. She saw the maid standing a respectful distance from her bedroom door. When she saw Jacqueline, she began walking without a word. Jacqueline fell in behind her. She didn’t often have the occasion to visit her grandparents’ rooms, and in her current state she could see herself getting lost in the mansion’s maze of hallways. She’d kept them waiting long enough already.

She almost didn’t notice when they arrived. She’d been staring into space, mind blank, and almost walked into the maid. She received a disapproving frown before the maid opened the door and announced her presence. “Your granddaughter, ma’am.”

“Come in,” Jacqueline’s grandmother said.

Jacqueline stepped into the room, preparing her apologies. Her grandparents were impeccably attired as always, despite the hour, and she was even more aware of how shabby she looked in comparison. She had opened her mouth to speak when she registered their grave expressions.

“Jacqueline,” her grandfather said. “Tell us about last night.”

“Yes sir,” Jacqueline said. She took a deep breath and made sure her voice would be level. “I was awoken in the middle of the night to find a knife at my throat. The man holding it… he threatened to kidnap me. He intended to hold me ransom.” She squeezed her eyes shut as if that would block out the memory. “Then he became scared and left.”

Her grandmother sighed. “I believe you’re leaving out a key detail, dear. What was he afraid of?”

Jacqueline opened her eyes, but couldn’t bring herself to look at her grandparents. “Me, ma’am. I was afraid, and I somehow… Fire flew from my hands and scared him. I didn’t know what I was doing. It wasn’t planned, and I don’t even know if it was actually me who caused it.”

Her grandmother tsked softly. Jacqueline risked glancing at them and saw her grandfather shaking his head in disappointment. “I was afraid of that,” he said. We had so hoped our influence would be enough to prevent this sort of ugliness, but it seems your father’s indiscretion has once again created a mess which we are left to deal with.”

Her father? Jacqueline had no idea what her father had to do with anything, but she knew better than to question her grandfather. She waited for him to continue.

“I’m afraid we’re going to have to ask you to leave.” Jacqueline’s mouth flew open. He held up a hand and continued, “We are not cruel. You may gather your belongings, or as many as you are able to carry. But you must leave by the morning, so that no one sees you go.”

“What? Why?” Jacqueline covered her mouth with her hands, but it was too late to stop the words that had slipped out. And she did want to know the answers. She couldn’t believe she would be kicked out of the only home she’d ever known, just because she had suffered the misfortune to almost be kidnapped.

“If this family is to maintain its status, we must maintain the goodwill of the townspeople,” her grandmother said. “Now that someone knows that you’re… well. The whole town will know soon enough, if they don’t already. We can’t afford to be seen fraternizing with that sort.”

“We don’t wish to see you harmed, of course. That’s why you need to leave now, while the news is still spreading.” Her grandfather smiled. “If you go quietly, people will soon forget you were ever here. This is the safest way for us all.”

Jacqueline nodded numbly. His words made a disturbing amount of sense. She wasn’t human, apparently, or at least not in the eyes of the townspeople. Leaving would make them feel safer. Besides, she had always imagined what it would be like to leave the town. Admittedly, she’d imagined having a plan and the support of her family, but she could figure something out. Maybe she could be a traveling musician. She’d met one, once, and it seemed like it might be fun. Not that a cello was the easiest instrument to travel with.

“I’m glad you understand,” her grandmother said. “In that case, it is time for us to say farewell. Try not to be too upset. We’re doing this because we love you.”

“And for what it’s worth, we will miss you.” Jacqueline’s grandfather stood and shook her hand briskly. “I wish you the best of luck.”

Jacqueline stared blankly into his face, not quite able to process the dismissal. It was only when the maid came in to escort her out that she shook herself back to the present. “Goodbye,” she said belatedly. “I love you both.”

She was entirely unaware of the trip back to her room. She seemed to blink, and suddenly she was staring at all of her belongings, trying to figure out what was worth packing. What would be useful to have with her? She stared into her wardrobe as if it held the answer.

Eventually she unearthed a bag from the bottom of one of her drawers and set to work filling it. She began by grabbing clothing at random, then moved on to assorted books and trinkets from her dresser. Would they be too heavy? Would they mold? She didn’t know what she was doing. She still couldn’t seem to convince herself that this was the last time she would ever see this room.

Finally, she gathered all the money she had lying around. It wasn’t a large amount. She’d always relied on her grandparents to give her money as she needed it. But she had some spare change from past shopping expeditions and birthdays, and she gathered that under a purse that she hid under her clothes. She didn’t think it was likely to matter, but she’d read enough adventure stories to half-expect to be ambushed by brigands as soon as she set foot outside of town. She didn’t want to make things easy for hypothetical thieves.

She was making one last sweep of the room when she remembered the earrings hidden in her jewelry box. They’d been a birthday gift from her grandparents, small things rather fancifully shaped like pumpkins. She’d cherished them all the more for their uncharacteristic whimsy.

She stared down at the earrings for a long moment before hiding them in her purse. She had to be able to come back sooner or later, and until then it would be nice to have a reminder of what she was looking forward to.

She looked around for one more last time, but couldn’t find any more excuses to linger. She took a deep breath, picked up her bag, and walked out of the room.

The halls of the manor were empty. It made sense, given the hour, but Jacqueline couldn’t help but feel that it was some sort of omen. It wasn’t any harder to believe than fire suddenly erupting from her hands.

She got to the front door and stopped once again. She’d spent so much of her life inside this building, and now she was leaving with no idea of when she’d return.

Thoughts like that were only making it harder for her. She pushed the front door open with perhaps more force than she’d intended, and stepped out into the world.

She’d expected the street to be even darker than the building she’d left, but the windows of the nearby houses were all lit. The street itself was bright enough that Jacqueline could see a group of people standing around, apparently waiting for something.

She narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out what was going on. She was about to ask when one of the figures pointed to her. “There she is!” they cried. “She’s the Uncanny I was talking about!”

Jacqueline realized with a jolt of fear that the person speaking was the one who’d broken into her room the previous night.

She scanned the crowd, finally fully awake but still not quite comprehending what she saw. She could make out enough faces to recognize some of them. She’d never been close to anyone in the town, but she passed them while she was out, smiled at her and asked him about his children. Now they looked at her like she’d set fire to their houses and eaten their children.

All at once, they surged forward. Jacqueline stared at them for what felt like an eternity, unable to move. As they crept forward, she began to pick out faces. There was the woman who baked the best bread in town. The man in the back had bragged about his dog’s puppies for weeks.

She didn’t know when she made the decision to run. She was just suddenly in motion, with no idea where she was going or why. It didn’t seem to matter. She knew deep in her bones that if she stopped, if she so much as slowed down, she would be torn to shreds.

Buildings flashed past as she ran blindly. She didn’t notice the person appear in her path until it was almost too late. She swerved to avoid them, but wasn’t fast enough. She felt her sleeve tear. The sound of it ripping was enough to spur her to run even faster.

The fire in her lungs scared her almost as much as the mob. She didn’t know how long she could keep running. The mob was right behind her, grabbing at her hair, her clothes. She’d lost her bag somewhere in the chaos. The loss of its weight wasn’t enough to make up for the increasing heaviness of her legs.

She realized that she was almost to the edge of the forest. Her last shreds of rationality screamed at her to stop, but she was being driven by something far deeper. She could worry about the dangers in the woods later. If she got a chance.

The ground was less even under the trees. She had to pay attention to each step. It took time that she didn’t have, but she couldn’t afford to fall. She couldn’t tell if she was still being followed. All she could hear was her own labored breathing.

She didn’t know how long she’d been running when her legs gave out under her. It felt like a betrayal. She couldn’t even rely on her own body anymore. She was struggling to pull herself up when a shadow fell over her. She curled up into a ball, as if she could make herself invisible by making herself small enough.

There was a sigh. “Ugh, really?” a voice muttered. “Did you have to end up on my doorstep? And in the middle of the night, too.”

Jacqueline couldn’t catch her breath quickly enough to reply. She barely managed a faint moan before slipping into unconsciousness.

She came back to consciousness in spurts. The first thing she registered was that she was exhausted, and that her body hurt all over. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter. She just wanted to go back to sleep and not have to deal with it for a little longer.

Then she remembered just why she was so tired. Her eyes flew open.

Instead of her nice comfy bed at the manor, she was lying on a couch in the middle of an unfamiliar room. She felt a burst of panic. She didn’t think her grandparents would be willing to pay a ransom for her anymore, so it was up to her to escape. At least her captor probably thought she was still asleep. She sat up, intending to stand up and run, but just sitting up made her head swim. She tested her legs tentatively. They wouldn’t hold her weight. She wouldn’t be able to just walk out, then.

She lay back down reluctantly. She’d just have to focus on conserving her strength for now. With any luck, she’d get a chance to overpower whoever had taken her prisoner. After that…

She’d probably just run away again. It wasn’t like she had a better plan, especially now that she’d lost most of her supplies. She’d have to hope she got lucky and stumbled upon someplace safe.

She heard footsteps and closed her eyes. She tried to breathe evenly, to act like she was still asleep. The footsteps got closer. Soon the person making them would be standing right above Jacqueline. Should she make her move now?

She was working up the nerve to lunge when her captor spoke. “I can tell you’re awake. Most sleeping people don’t tense up as soon as someone walks into the room.”

Jacqueline sighed. She wasn’t cut out for rescuing herself. She pushed herself back upright, though she was still leaning heavily on the arm of the couch.

Now that she had a chance to look around for more than five seconds, she could see that she was in someone’s living room. It was a simple room, the kind of place that was charitably described as cozy. There was a bookshelf on the opposite wall. The fireplace was unlit but showed clear signs of use. There were windows that looked out onto the woods, but from this angle it seemed almost welcoming rather than intimidating.

Jacqueline realized she was letting herself get distracted. She looked her captor in the face, trying to figure out why she was being held prisoner.

The girl standing over her couldn’t have been much older than Jacqueline herself. She had short pink hair and an amused expression. Her face was unfamiliar, which didn’t necessarily mean anything, given Jacqueline’s limited experiences outside her grandparents’ mansion. “What are you going to do to me?” Jacqueline asked. “I’ll warn you, my grandparents won’t be happy if they hear that I’ve been hurt.”

She thought that much was true. She didn’t expect them to do anything about it, but they would at least be upset.

The other girl snorted, clearly less than impressed. “Uh-huh. That’s why you were running for your life in a creepy forest in the middle of the night.”

Jacqueline winced at the reminder. It didn’t help that this stranger was apparently aware of the fact that Jacqueline’s life was in shambles.

The girl’s expression softened fractionally. “Look, I get it. People find out that you’re Fey, and no matter how nice they were before suddenly they’re out for your blood.”

Jacqueline looked away. “How can you tell?” Was her nonhuman status really that obvious? Had everyone just been taking pity on her until she turned out to be a monster?”

“I have a sense for these things.” The girl smirked. “That, and your ears are pointed. It’s a dead giveaway.”

Jacqueline’s hands flew to her ears. As the girl had said, they were distinctly pointed. She’d never really thought about her ears before, but she was pretty sure that she would have noticed if they’d been pointed before the last few days. Just another sign that she couldn’t go back.

The girl saw Jacqueline’s dismay and continued loudly. “Hey, at least it’s just your ears. Those are pretty easy to hide. I mean, look at my hair. Yeah, it looks great on me, but it also screams Fey.”

Jacqueline found that less than reassuring. The idea that she could change further was more than a little terrifying. Was she going to become completely unrecognizable, even to herself?

She chose to focus on the other implication of the girl’s words. “So, then… if you’re Fey, what are you?”

The girl rolled her eyes. “I know you’re new to this, but for future reference, that’s a really rude question.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Eh, whatever.” She waved a hand dismissively. “You’re looking at the famous witch of the Witch’s Woods.”

Jacqueline blinked. “Really?” She realized as soon as the word was out of her mouth that it was a stupid thing to ask. “No, I believe you, it’s just – you’re much younger than I expected.” 

__

And prettier

, she almost said, before realizing that suddenly complimenting a stranger like that was weird and creepy. Apparently she was still more out of it than she’d thought.

“Hey, it’s not like age has anything to do with magical power.” The girl crossed her arms defensively. “Anyway, you’re not one to talk. You can’t be much older than me.”

“But these have been the Witch’s Woods for as long as I can remember. How long have you been her?”

The girl shrugged. “A few years, maybe? There was a witch here before me, but she got bored of living in the middle of nowhere and moved to some city. I just found this place when I needed a place to stay, so I moved in.”

Jacqueline decided that was a story she was best off not hearing. She didn’t want to think about why someone her age had been living alone for years. Besides, she didn’t even know the other girl’s name yet, she didn’t need to ask probing personal questions.

She should introduce herself, though. “Anyway, um, nice to meet you. I’m Jacqueline Dupre.” She stuck her hand out and tried to ignore the thought that she didn’t have much of a claim to the name Dupre anymore.

“Kim Diehl.” Kim’s handshake was firm, and Jacqueline was painfully aware that her own was still as weak as the rest of her body. “Nice to meet you, Jackie.”

Jacqueline was surprised by the nickname, but she found she rather liked it. It was also a good sign for her chances of escape. Someone who cared enough to give her a nickname hopefully wasn’t going to try to hold her hostage. Really, Kim wasn’t acting much like a kidnapper at all.

Jacqueline decided to push her luck and keep asking questions. This decision was helped along by her stomach, which chose that moment to growl loudly. She bit her lip. “So, uh, you’ve already been really generous to me, but…” She trailed off, not sure how to phrase her request in a way that didn’t have the specter of her grandmother chiding her for greediness.

Kim nodded. “I get it. You probably haven’t eaten since yesterday, right? I’ll go get you something. I can just put it on your tab.” She winked and walked out of the room.

Jacqueline took the chance to sort through all the information that had been dumped on her. The town had formed an angry mob against her, and she’d only escaped because of the witch that had terrified everyone for years. And now that witch, who was barely Jacqueline’s age, was getting food for her. She seemed to be sincere about wanting to help. Her house was remarkably mundane, too, or at least the parts that Jacqueline could see.

No, laying it all out like that wasn’t really helping make the situation less strange. She tried to focus on the minor details instead. Maybe they’d make more sense.

Now that she was thinking about it, the ache in her stomach wasn’t entirely from the events of last night. Kim had been right that she hadn’t eaten in at least a day. For that matter, she’d have to find a bathroom in the relatively near future. That was going to be a fun conversation. She couldn’t even stand on her own. Was she going to have to ask Kim to carry her to a toilet?

Just thinking about it made her blush. She shook her head and tried to focus on her plans for the future. She was going to need time to recover. With any luck, Kim would be willing to let her stay for a little while, so she wouldn’t have to worry about that at least. But what would she do when she was well enough to leave? She could still feel her purse by her side, but the only clothes she had left were the ones she was wearing, and those were ragged from her escape. The mob had also taken her books, and most of her jewelry, and pretty much everything else she’d owned. The things she hadn’t had to leave behind at the manor, anyway.

Jacqueline sniffled. She knew it was stupid to get this worked up over a few lost objects. But she was tired, and she’d been kicked out of her home, and apparently she wasn’t even who she’d thought she was, and she thought she deserved a moment to be selfish.

Then Kim walked back in, and Jacqueline went from feeling vindictively sad to just feeling silly. She scrubbed at her face hastily. Since she hadn’t quite stopped crying, this was less than effective.

Kim’s eyes were wide. “I have food!” she said. “I didn’t know what you’d like, so I just made you a sandwich. That work for you?”

Jacqueline nodded. “Thanks,” she managed.

“Uh-huh.” Kim handed her the plate, not making eye contact.

Jacqueline ate in silence for a bit. She wasn’t expecting Kim to start talking again, so when she did she almost choked on her food. “So, uh, I know that things must kinda suck for you right now,” Kim said. “But if it helps, I’m willing to let you stay with me for a while. I mean, you still need to recover, and in the meantime I can help you with Fey stuff. If you want, anyway.”

Jacqueline took another bite to give herself time to think. Her immediate reaction was to say no, that she didn’t want or need help with anything Fey, that she wanted to ignore it and let it go away. Her ears were a painful reminder that that wasn’t an option. And now that she knew she had some sort of ability to create fire, she should learn how to use it. She didn’t want to risk hurting anyone.

“Thank you,” she said again.

“It’s nothing. I mean, you looked so pathetic when I found you that I couldn’t just ignore you.” Kim pretended to be fascinated by something outside the cottage. “So, uh, while we’re having an awkward conversation anyway, would you be okay with me putting you in a healing sleep? I know you just woke up, but sitting there doing nothing will get boring really quickly. And when you wake up this time, you should be strong enough to stand up.”

Jacqueline frowned. She was still coming to grips with the idea that she herself could do magic. Having a stranger put some sort magic on her, even for Jacqueline’s own sake, seemed a bit sketchy. But the idea of not having to deal with things for a while longer was appealing. She also found that she wanted to trust Kim.

“Okay,” she said. “But, um…” Now it was her turn to steadfastly avoid eye contact. “Before you do, could you help me to the bathroom?”

Kim blushed. “Oh! Of course.”

The process was exactly as awkward as Jacqueline had feared, but somehow they managed to get her to the bathroom and back with minimal embarrassment. Doing so seemed to take all the energy Jacqueline had left. She collapsed back onto the couch, feeling like she could fall asleep even without magic.

Not that the thought of having magic performed on her was particularly relaxing. She tried not to show her discomfort. It seemed rude, since Kim was doing her a favor. “So, is there anything in particular I should be doing, or…?”

Kim shook her head. “Nah, healing spells are a specialty of mine. Just lie down and try not to fight it.”

That didn’t exactly help Jacqueline’s nerves. She did as she was told, though she kept an eye on Kim, half expecting her to pull out a vial of pig’s blood or something. Instead she just started murmuring softly. Jacqueline couldn’t make out the words, but their cadence was soothing. She had no trouble letting them lull her into unconsciousness.


	2. It's All Gonna Shift, It's Out of Our Hands

When Jacqueline awoke for the second time, she was in much less pain, which was nice. She was less happy about the fact that she regained awareness all at once. It meant that she didn’t panic about waking up someplace strange, but she would have liked to forget about that fateful evening for at least a little while. Her brain wasn’t going to grant her that courtesy twice, though.

She refused to use that as an excuse to wallow even more. She stood up determinedly, grateful to find that she was actually capable of supporting her own weight. The room looked pretty much the same from a standing position, though the light streaming in through the windows suggested that it was now early morning. The doorway Kim had come through seemed to lead into a hall.

Jacqueline took a step toward it, then stopped. Kim was being kind enough by allowing Jacqueline to stay at all. She didn’t want to risk annoying her by going someplace she shouldn’t. Depending on how early it really was, Kim might not even be awake, and waking her up was almost certainly a bad idea.

It would probably be best if Jacqueline just stayed where she was and waited for Kim to come get her. She was getting sick of waiting, but it wasn’t like she didn’t have a lot of practice staying in one place and not doing much. She walked over to the bookshelf in search of something with which she could quietly occupy herself.

In what seemed to be the theme of the last few days, most of the books seemed to be somehow Fey-themed. Jacqueline scanned the titles for a bit before coming across one which proclaimed “Sexy Magic!” quite vividly on the spine. That was enough to convince her to grab a book on Fey culture and walk away quickly. Hopefully that would let her avoid asking Kim any more offensive questions.

As it turned out, there was a ridiculous number of different kinds of Fey, each of whom had their own strengths and quirks. Learning about them sounded fascinating. Jacqueline had only ever heard about them as one generic group, but she’d also heard that they ate children, so she didn’t think her information was very accurate. She hoped not, anyway.

She had trouble following the text enough to find out. She tried to pay attention, but she kept rereading sentences without absorbing the information. Her mind refused to stay on topic. She kept at it anyway, refusing to acknowledge her lack of attention. That would be too much like admitting that she was still feeling confused and scared and helpless. It wasn’t like being unhappy would change anything, so what was the point?

She finally managed to get engrossed in it, just in time to jump when Kim walked in. “Sorry!” she blurted. “I should have asked before I touched your books, but I needed something to do that wouldn’t be too disruptive.”

Kim shook her head. “Nah, it’s fine. Most of those aren’t really mine anyway. They were here when I moved in. I think the witch who was here before was just too lazy to move them.” She paused. “How long have you been awake? Next time, you should just go make breakfast or something.”

Jacqueline fought down the urge to apologize again. “Where’s the kitchen?” she asked instead. “I can make breakfast for us now.”

“Well, I’m definitely not going to turn down the chance to make someone else cook.” Kim walked back out of the room. “Come on, I’ll give you the tour,” she said over her shoulder.

The cottage turned out to be fairly small. In addition to the room Jacqueline had been staying in, there was a kitchen connected to a small dining room, a closet, and the bathroom she’d used the previous night. There was also a staircase in the hallway, but Kim just said that it led to her bedroom and didn’t invite her up.

After living in a mansion her whole life, Jacqueline was a little confused by it. She caught herself wondering halfway through the tour what a maid would even do in such a small house, which made her feel silly. Kim wouldn’t exactly have been able to hire a maid even if she wanted one. But the rooms felt much more lived in here than they did at the manor, where anything even slightly out of place was quickly whisked back to where it belonged. Here, Jacqueline could touch things without having to worry about dirtying them.

“So now that you’ve seen the place, you know where to find stuff if you need it.” Kim frowned. “You’re probably going to want some new clothes eventually, but we can deal with that later. Right now, it’s time for breakfast.”

Jacqueline looked down at her clothes. Between frantically running through a forest and sleeping in them, they were rather worse for the wear. She would definitely want to replace them. Kim had been so matter of fact about the idea that thanking her just seemed awkward, though. “Right,” she said. “I’ll go do that.”

As soon as she set foot in the kitchen, she realized she had no idea what she was doing. She’d always had other people around to cook for her. She didn’t even know what she wanted to make, much less how to do it.

She opened cabinets to see if that would inspire her. She found some eggs, which seemed like a good place to start for a breakfast. Maybe she could make omelets. They seemed easy enough, just mixing the eggs and putting them in a skillet.

15 minutes later, she was scraping burnt eggs from the bottom of the pan, forced to admit defeat. She didn’t know what she’d tell Kim. This became a pressing problem moments later, when Kim walked in. “Why does it smell like – oh.”

Jacqueline kept her head down, bent over the pan. “I’m so sorry. I was trying to make an omelet, and it turns out they’re harder than they look.”

“Have you really never made an omelet?” Kim asked.

“Well, at home I had people who could do it for me…” Jacqueline realized as she said it how spoiled she sounded. She scrubbed even harder, as if that would erase her comment.

Kim laughed. “Wow, you were a rich brat, weren’t you? And not only don’t you have any practical skills, I bet you don’t even have any money on you anymore. I really know how to pick them.”

Jacqueline’s cheeks burned. “I’ll try to make it up to you, but if I’m too much of a burden I can always leave. You’ve done so much for me already.”

Kim grabbed the mostly clean pan. Jacqueline jumped, not having realized that Kim had gotten so close. “Nah, you’re fine,” Kim said. “If you can’t even make an omelet, there’s no way you could survive out there on your own. I don’t want your death on my conscience.” She began gathering ingredients. “But remember when I said you didn’t have to worry about waking me up? New plan. I’m pretty sure I have a cookbook somewhere around here. Next time you wake up before me, start reading that. You still owe me a breakfast.”

Kim’s tone was light, but Jacqueline couldn’t help but feel as if she’d failed some hidden test. She wished she had a way to make it up to Kim. But as she’d had pointed out, she was just a spoiled rich kid with no practical skills. “I’ll go look for that now,” she said.

“Cool.” Kim waved vaguely over her shoulder. “I think it’s on one of the shelves over there.”

Jacqueline tried to follow the imprecise movement, eventually finding a set of bookshelves tucked into a corner. She scanned them in search of something that might be helpful. Wedged between a book on potions and one about cats, she found a book called “Cooking Like Magic.” She grabbed it and hoped the title was purely figurative.

Kim came out with some omelets that were actually edible a few minutes later. “Here you go.” Once Jacqueline had sat down and continued eating, she said, “I’m going to go out on a limb and assume you don’t know anything about sewing, either.”

Jacqueline shook her head. “Well, I’ve done some embroidery, but I was never particularly good at it, and I’ve never done anything more strenuous.”

“Hey, it’s better than nothing.” Kim took a bite and chewed thoughtfully. “Okay, so after this I guess I can show you how I make my clothes. That way, you can both change out of those rags and work on being less useless.”

“That sounds good.” Actually, Jacqueline had a number of questions, but now didn’t seem like the time for them. She couldn’t help but be impressed that Kim was apparently making her own clothes in the middle of a forest, though.

With that settled, the conversation relaxed into something more natural Kim asked what it was like to grow up rich (or pampered, as she’d put it), and Jacqueline did her best to answer, but it was hard when she had nothing else to compare it to. She also kept thinking about her grandparents and wanting to cry all over again. Kim seemed to notice, as she loudly commented on a bird that had landed on the windowsill. They talked about the forest wildlife for the rest of the meal.

Once Kim was done eating, she went to rummage in the closet. “I know I had – aha!” She pulled out a bundle of fabric. “Okay, it’s time to begin your sewing lessons. Do you have any idea what sort of outfit you’re going to want?”

Jacqueline rested her head on her hand. “Not really? I’m fine with pretty much anything.”

“How helpful.” Kim unfolded the fabric and held it up for Jacqueline to see. “I hope you like black and/or red, because that’s what I have around. For style, I’ll probably just have you do something simple and easy to move in. You’re fine with a skirt, right?”

Jacqueline looked down at what was left of the skirt she was wearing. “I think I can manage.”

“Sweet, that will make that much easier. You’ll pretty much just have to cut out a circle.”

“That sounds doable.” Jacqueline began clearing the table. “Are we starting right now?”

“Why not?” Kim grabbed a box from the closet. “Here are the supplies you’ll need. I’ll set up while you take care of the dishes.”

Jacqueline wasn’t entirely convinced that this would be as easy as Kim made it sound, but she was determined to prove that she could do something to contribute. Even if it was only saving Kim some of the effort of helping her in the first place.

She soon found that her half-remembered embroidery skills translated to making clothing remarkably well. It seemed like the hardest part of sewing was the fact that you had to sit in one place and focus on a single task for hours on end, which was pretty much her primary skillset. Kim soon pronounced her competent enough to work at it on her own while Kim did whatever she’d done before Jacqueline had come crashing in.

Having a project to work on also helped Jacqueline not spiral into a mess of apologies and self-flagellation over minor mistakes. She still tried to find ways to make up for her presence, but she stopped offering to leave every time anything went wrong. She even managed to stop feeling guilty about causing trouble for Kim for hours at a stretch.

She ended up spending three days sewing more or less constantly. She was pretty pleased with how her final products turned out, too. They were just a simple shirt and skirt, but they fit her well and didn’t look too poorly made. And being able to change out of her ruined clothing meant that she was inclined to forgive their flaws. She folded her old clothes and stuck them under the couch, trying to ignore the voice at the back of her mind commenting that she was becoming unrecognizable.

The other thing that happened over those three days was that she got to know Kim much better. She hadn’t particularly sought out the other girl’s company, which would have felt too forward, but there was only so much space in the cottage. They became acquainted over mealtime conversations and passing comments on their surroundings.

For all that Kim tried to make herself seem tough, Jacqueline got the sense that she had been lonely living in the woods. Or maybe she was just projecting. Either way, she found that she enjoyed spending time with Kim far more than she would have expected. It was nice to be able to hold a conversation without the pressure to be perfectly proper at all times. Kim was the opposite of proper, but she was caring and fun to talk to, even if she could be a little insensitive.

Jacqueline was starting to relax, until Kim greeted her one morning with a manic smile. She put down her cookbook carefully. “Good morning,” she said. “Is there a reason for you to be making that face?”

“Well, you have your new outfit, right? So you’ve officially graduated Kim Diehl’s School for the Life Skills of a Three-Year-Old. Congratulations.” Kim clapped her hands. “Now we can move on to something more fun: magic.”

Jacqueline winced. She knew she’d have to deal with this eventually, but she was kind of hoping she could put it off for a little while longer. “Are you sure? I barely know how to cook anything more complicated than a sandwich.”

Kim shrugged. “Yeah, but you can work on that later. Are you really telling me you aren’t even a little curious about your powers? You could have all sorts of cool abilities you don’t even know about!”

“The last ‘cool ability’ I learned got me kicked out of my house. Forgive me if I’m not enthusiastic about the idea of having more.” Jacqueline spoke without speaking, and regretted the words as soon as they were out of her mouth. She stood by the sentiment, but she should have found a better way to say it.

Kim’s face fell for a split second before rearranging itself into a casual smirk. “Well, it’s not like you have to worry about that happening again. You can’t get kicked out if you don’t have a home in the first place.”

Jacqueline kind of deserved that. She’d been the one to get snippy first, and it wasn’t like Kim was wrong. As much as Jacqueline enjoyed staying at the cottage with Kim, she hadn’t even been there for a full week. That wasn’t enough time to call it a home.

Kim was also right that she needed to get this out of the way while she still had someone who was willing to help her. And if she kept antagonizing her like this, that might not be true for much longer.

She sighed. “Okay, fine. What do I have to do?”

Kim crossed her arms. “That depends. You don’t happen to know what sort of ancestry you have, do you?”

“I’m afraid not. I never met my parents, and I’m pretty sure my grandparents weren’t Fey.”

“Of course.” Kim shook her head. “In that case, I’m going to have to ask you to tell me about the first time your powers manifested. Sorry to dredge up bad memories like this, but it’s kind of important.”

Jacqueline nodded and closed her eyes. “I wasn’t expecting it,” she said slowly. “I was just terrified, and it felt like everything was getting really hot. I pushed my hands forward without thinking. Then there was suddenly fire shooting from them. It didn’t even feel like I was doing anything, it was just something that was happening.”

She swallowed. She didn’t like feeling so helpless, even in a memory. She reminded herself that the point of this lesson was so she wouldn’t be helpless next time. This didn’t really get rid of her anxiety, as it implied that there would be a next time. She swallowed again and focused on remembering to breathe.

It was going to be okay. Kim wouldn’t let anything happen to her. She herself was useless and relying on Kim for too much as it was, but at least that meant she was safe.

There was a hand on Jacqueline’s shoulder. She jumped, her eyes flying open as she tried to get away. Kim pulled her hands back and raised them in a gesture of surrender. “Whoa, easy there, Jackie. It’s okay. You’re here, you’re safe, and you’re having lessons to make sure that sort of thing doesn’t happen again. It’s okay.”

Jacqueline nodded. Her heart was still racing, but she thought she could at least look calm. “Thank you,” she said. She grabbed her arm self-consciously. “Did that help?”

Kim frowned. “Yeah, a little. It means I know where to start with your training, anyway. I don’t really know what you might be, though, so I can’t tell you if you can do anything else. I have some ideas, but…” she shrugged. “Eh, it’s not like it’s going to matter anytime soon. Let’s just focus on getting that fire under control for now.”

“Right.” Jacqueline stood up straighter. “Where do I start?”

“We can start by getting you outside. I’d rather not risk you accidentally burning my house down.”

Jacqueline opened her mouth, then closed it again. “That’s fair.”

They ended up going to a clearing a little ways away from the cottage. “This should be fine,” Kim said. “I don’t really think it will be an issue, but I’d rather not risk it.”

Jacqueline shifted her weight awkwardly. “I’m ready. I think.”

“The thing about fire magic is that it tends to be pretty strongly tied to your emotions,” Kim said. “So until you get used to calling it up on your own, step one is going to be getting really emotional. It shouldn’t matter what you’re feeling, you just need to feel a lot of it.”

Well, that sounded kind of terrifying. “I… okay,” Jacqueline said.

Kim picked up on her uneasiness, if not its cause. “I know, feeling things on cue can be hard. It might help to remember a time you felt something strongly and let that guide you.”

“All right.” Jacqueline closed her eyes and tried to think about when she’d had a strong reaction to anything. As Kim had said, it was a little hard to do on such short notice. She settled on her sixteenth birthday party, one of her happiest and most cherished memories. Her grandparents had invited practically the whole town. She’d gotten a chance to mingle and celebrate with everyone and not have to worry about being the perfect Dupre for one glorious day. Just thinking about it made her smile. They’d played games, and the town baker had made her such a delicious cake, and –

The memory of the baker’s smiling face was suddenly replaced by his glare under the glow of a torch. The guests stopped their dancing and turned on her. The next thing she knew, she was running for her life, knowing that she had to choose between certain and near-certain death.

She shook her head and squeezed her eyes tighter. It looked like happiness wasn’t going to work, at least for now. It was a depressing thought, but she couldn’t dwell on it. She’d just focus on a different memory. Maybe anger would work. She had just been abandoned by the only family she’d ever known, so she thought she deserved some cathartic anger.

She couldn’t bring herself to hate her grandparents, though. Trying just made her feel guilty. They’d known that she was Fey from the beginning, apparently, and they’d taken her in anyway. It was only after she’d gone and ruined everything that they’d asked her to leave. Even then, they’d let her take her belongings, which they didn’t have to do. They’d tried to keep her safe by waiting until nightfall to send her off. They’d done the best they could, and she couldn’t blame them for being afraid for their own safety. After what had happened to her, it only made sense.

And now she was just sad. That didn’t seem very useful, either, so she shoved it to the side. There had to be something she was passionate about, something that would let her access her magic.

“Hey,” Kim said. “Have you got something yet?”

Jacqueline opened her eyes. “I’m afraid not yet.”

Kim groaned. “Come on, how hard can it be? Even an automaton like you should have something you feel strongly about.”

“What?” Jacqueline’s voice came out shriller than she’d intended. She shoved down her hurt and started again. She knew Kim didn’t mean to be cruel. “I mean, I’m sorry. I’m just having trouble coming up with anything.”

“Did you ever think that that right there might be why?” Kim took a step closer to Jacqueline, so they were practically face to face. “Every time you start to feel anything, you shut it away so you can go back to acting like you’re so proper and perfect. It’s okay, you know. You may think you’re better than everyone else, but the rest of us get by just fine even with our feelings. You’re just too afraid to try it.”

Jacqueline bit her tongue. It wasn’t like she wanted to be so strait-laced all the time, but she was enough of a burden as it was. She didn’t need to make anyone else deal with her ridiculous hysteria. It was much easier for everyone if she was quiet and polite and didn’t let herself get riled up.

She didn’t think she could do that if she stayed here and let Kim keep insulting her. She stood up and dusted off her skirt. “I understand,” she said. “I think it would be best if I continued my magical studies on my own from now on. Thank you for all that you’ve done for me.”

She walked back to the cottage mechanically. She thought she heard Kim start to say something, but Jacqueline refused to stop long enough to listen. If she did, she’d probably fall apart. A vindictive part of her said that that was what Kim deserved, if she wanted to see Jacqueline get emotional, but she wanted to think that she was more sensible than that. At the very least, she wanted to avoid the embarrassment of breaking down for no reason.

Her anger carried her back to the living room. She collapsed on the couch and indulged in a little bit of self-loathing before the worry kicked in. Had she really just stormed away like a spoiled child? It wasn’t like Kim had been wrong, even if the way she’d said it was less than ideal. She should go apologize.

Maybe not right then, though. She didn’t really want to be around Kim just yet. It would be better to give them both a chance to calm down. In the meantime, she might as well keep reading her cookbook. It wasn’t like she had anything better to do.

A thought occurred to her. If the problem was her inability to learn how to use her powers, maybe she could apologize by proving that she could learn something else. If she could cook a decent meal, she might be able to show Kim that she wasn’t completely useless.

She flipped through the book. Most of them were still too complex for her, but she eventually settled on something that looked simple enough that even she could make it. She reread the recipe while she waited for the coast to clear.

Once she heard the door to Kim’s room slam, she ventured out of the living room to put her plan in action. The act of cooking proved to be more stressful than she’d like. She kept second-guessing herself, wondering if she’d managed to ruin everything by waiting five seconds too long. Her final product looked edible enough, though. It didn’t seem to poison her when she tried it.

She had the food on plates when she realized she didn’t have a plan for getting it to Kim. She refused to risk intruding on Kim’s personal space, but if the food got cold before Kim came down then the whole thing would have been pointless.

She was still dithering when Kim came down. “I thought I smelled food,” Kim said. Jacqueline jumped. “Whoa, sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. Is it okay if I join you?”

“Of course,” Jaqueline said. “I thought I should apologize, and making food seemed like it would help.”

Kim barked a laugh. “What are you apologizing for? I was being a dick back there.” She grabbed her plate forcefully.

“You were right, though,” Jacqueline said. “I do try too hard to be proper, and I can understand that it would be annoying. It’s just that I had to be the perfect heir for my grandparents, and I keep forgetting that I’m not anymore.”

Kim frowned. “That sounds pretty miserable.”

“They were already generous just to take me in, after what happened with my parents. I can’t blame them for not dealing with an overdramatic child.” Jacqueline shrugged. “Besides, they had worked hard to build up a reputation in town. They wanted to make sure I didn’t ruin that.”

“Ugh. Just sit down and start eating, please.” Jacqueline looked at Kim, confused. Kim ran her fingers through her hair self-consciously. “It sounds like we’re about to have a feelings talk, and I refuse to do that without having food as a distraction.”

Jacqueline did as she was told, trying to act normal. She couldn’t help but worry, though. It sounded like she’d guilted Kim into doing something she didn’t want to do. Maybe she shouldn’t have tried explaining herself. It might have sounded too much like she was trying to justify her actions, and now Kim felt like she had to respond.

“Okay, here we go.” Kim took a deep breath. “First of all, whatever happened with your parents is in no way your fault, and if your grandparents ever made you feel like it was then they are both assholes and wrong.

“Second, even if it were your fault, the way they treated you was still messed up. You were a kid, of course you were melodramatic and ridiculous sometimes. That’s what kids are like. They should have expected it, and the fact that they apparently shut you down for acting like a kid is more proof that they were assholes.”

She took an emphatic bite of food. Jacqueline wanted to use this pause to respond, to defend her grandparents, but she wasn’t even sure where to begin. She knew that her parents’ actions weren’t her fault. It was just that her grandparents couldn’t help but be reminded of them every time they looked at her, which was entirely reasonable.

Somehow, she didn’t think that Kim would agree. Either way, she lost her chance to explain moments later, when Kim swallowed and continued her rant. “Anyway, I have a lot more I could say about your grandparents and how they are truly terrible people, but now isn’t the time. The point is that I shouldn’t have snapped at you earlier. Especially not since you have a good reason for acting the way you do, but you shouldn’t have felt obliged to tell me about it. Sorry about that.

“And since you’ve told me about your tragic backstory, it seems only fair that I tell you mine. Get us back on even ground and all.”

“You really don’t have to do that.” The last thing Jacqueline needed right now was something else to confuse or upset her, and judging by that lead-in, hearing about Kim’s past would do exactly that. She’d enjoyed pretending that Kim was too strong to be hurt. It let her feel safe.

Kim shrugged. “Eh, it’s not like it’s some huge secret. Maybe this way you’ll actually be willing to call me out when I’m being a dick.”

“Well, if you’re sure…” Stopping Kim would just be rude at this point. Besides, as worrying as Jacqueline was sure it would be, she couldn’t deny that she was curious. It had nothing to do with how flattering she found Kim’s willingness to trust her.

“I’m assuming that you’ve guessed that my mom was a witch. I mean, duh. The thing was that she was also the sort of person who takes everything that people say about the Fey as a challenge. She had some sort of plan to ‘get her revenge’ or ‘show them all’ or whatever, and apparently she just never realized how much that made her sound like a supervillain.”

Kim looked down at the table. “I tried to talk her out of it, but she just said that she was doing it so I could have a better future. Which didn’t stop her from acting like I didn’t exist half the time, but whatever.

“Eventually I decided I couldn’t handle it anymore, so I left.” She snorted. “That lasted like a month. I wasn’t exactly prepared to live on my own, so I went crawling back to beg for forgiveness or something. Not that I ever got the chance.

“By the time I made it back, her house had been burned down, and she was gone. I don’t know if she’d done it during a test run, or if someone finally caught on or what. It doesn’t really matter. The point is that there was nothing left for me there. I left town for good, eventually heard about this place, and you can pretty much guess the rest.” She shrugged, but her voice was thick with emotion, and she wouldn’t look at Jacqueline. “So there you go. We’ve had our emotional conversation, and now we can move on and never acknowledge it again. By the way, this is a remarkably decent meal.”

Jacqueline had been staring in growing horror throughout Kim’s speech. She jolted at the compliment. “Oh. Thank you?” She wished she knew how to comfort Kim, but she wasn’t sure if she’d be overstepping.

“Anyway, have I ever told you about the witch who lived here before me?” Kim was speaking just a little too quickly. “I only knew her for like a week, but she was something. One time she managed to flood the house with fish.”

She went on to tell a story that somehow involved a pumpkin, a pair of heels, and the end of a marriage. Jacqueline got so caught up in it that she could forget that they had ever argued.

She woke up the next morning prepared to throw herself back into magic training. She still wasn’t thrilled about the idea, but she had to do it eventually. She might as well get it over with. Besides, she wanted to show Kim how grateful she was for her help.

She spent most of breakfast psyching herself up to face her emotions again. That made it all the more surprising when Kim suggested they go for a walk instead. “You’ve never really gotten a chance to see the woods, right? I might as well show you around. I need to go get some more herbs anyway.”

“Thank you!” Jacqueline was still wary of the woods, even now that she’d met the resident witch. A lifetime of warnings about it wasn’t something she could just brush off. This seemed like a good way to get over it, though, and it was almost certainly going to be easier than magic training.

Kim grabbed a bag, and then they were off. Jacqueline tried to keep track of where they were going as they walked, but quickly got lost. The trees all looked the same to her. Kim seemed to know where she was going, though, so Jacqueline just followed and hoped for the best.

It didn’t help that Kim didn’t seem to have a clear destination in mind. They stopped every now and then for her to pick a flower or strip some bark off a tree, but mostly they seemed to be wandering at random. Jacqueline eventually gave in and asked, “Where are we going?”

Kim didn’t slow down. “You’ll see. I promise I know what I’m doing, so you’ll just have to trust me.”

“Of course.” Jacqueline hoped she didn’t sound too sarcastic. Kim seemed to fit in in the woods in a way Jacqueline hadn’t fit in anywhere. If she said she knew what she was doing, Jacqueline was happy to let her take the lead.

It was another half hour later when Jacqueline heard the sounds of running water. Kim broke out into a jog. “Come on, we’re almost there!”

“There” turned out to be a stream winding contentedly through the woods. The light reflecting off of it was almost blinding after spending so long in the shade, but Jacqueline couldn’t look away. The leaves on its banks seemed too bright a green to be real. Even the rocks surrounding it were covered in moss. It looked like a painting, but seeing it real and right in front of her gave her a sense of peace unlike anything she’d ever felt.

Kim swung around to face her, beaming. “Pretty nice, right?”

Jacqueline tried to shape her thoughts into words, but all she could come up with were adjectives that seemed inadequate for the scene in front of her. “It’s amazing,” she managed.

Kim’s expression was unusually open and carefree. “Seriously. It’s the best part about living out here. And hey, if everyone else is too scared to come into the woods, that means I have this place all to myself.” Her laugh sounded only slightly bitter.

“Thank you for sharing it with me.” That still didn’t feel like enough, but Jacqueline couldn’t quite get a grip on her feelings herself, let alone express them. She settled for looking back out at the stream. It was somehow just as beautiful the second time you saw it.

They ended up staying there for the rest of the afternoon, relaxing in the sunlight and occasionally swapping stories. Talking about her old life wasn’t nearly as painful when she was surrounded by so much beauty. It was a reminder that if she’d never left, she would never have found anything like this. She would have missed out on something so awe-inspiring because she was too afraid.

They were forced to start heading back when they noticed the sun going down. The walk back was quiet, but Jacqueline didn’t mind. She was too busy thinking that maybe, learning that she was Fey hadn’t been entirely a bad thing.  



	3. They'll Find Us Side By Side

Another week into Jacqueline’s stay, she still hadn’t made any progress with her magic. Her attempts had only been met with frustration and disappointment.  
   
She was at least figuring out basic household tasks. Kim had released her from her study of the cookbook just that morning. She was celebrating by reading one of the few novels she’d found on the shelves. It was admittedly a romance novel, but Jacqueline would take what she could get at that point.

She was rolling her eyes at a particularly melodramatic description when Kim walked in. She looked up to greet her, but Kim’s expression killed her good mood instantly. She might have been trying to look casual. In actuality, she just looked angry and a little scared.

Jacqueline’s heart began to race. This was the first time she’d seen Kim afraid of anything. And Kim was both a proficient magic user and a generally competent person, so whatever had scared her would eat Jacqueline alive given half a chance.

“We need to go,” Kim said. Another jolt of adrenaline went through Jacqueline’s body. “Do you still have all your things in a bag?”

“I think so.” Jacqueline forced herself to put the book down gently. She hadn’t had a use for most of her belongings since Kim had taken her in, so they should all be together still. There was no need for her to run around panicking.

“Good. Grab that. I’ll get my own bag, and then we can leave.” Kim walked away without offering any further explanation. This did nothing to help Jacqueline’s anxiety.

But obeying orders without asking questions was still her primary skillset, so she did as she was told. She picked up her bag from where it lay by the couch. Seeing it was an unpleasant reminder of what had happened the last time she’d had to suddenly run.

Kim came back a moment later, her bag not much larger than Jacqueline’s. “Okay,” she said. “We should be fine, but I’d rather get going and feel stupid about it when everything turns out fine.”

Jacqueline smiled weakly. “Yeah.”

“Come on, I’ll explain on the way.” She headed out the front door and deeper into the forest, walking briskly. “You remember how I found you pretty much as soon as you entered the woods?”

Jacqueline blinked at the apparent non-sequitur. “Yes?”

“That’s because I have wards set up around the woods that let me know when people enter or leave.” Kim ran a hand through her hair agitatedly. “And at the moment, those wards are going crazy. It feels like there’s an entire town coming through.”

“Could it just be someone crossing back and forth really quickly?” It didn’t seem likely, but Jacqueline wanted to hope it was true anyway.

Kim snorted. “I wish. I get a different signal depending on which way they’re going, and right now everyone is coming towards us.” She shook her head. “But hey, they’re not smart enough to find the cottage, much less us. I figure we can hang out here for a while and then go back and see how much damage they’ve done.”

Jacqueline wanted to agree, but the lingering panic in the back of her mind made it hard to find the words. It was probably better for them to be quiet anyway. She couldn’t help but cringe whenever she stepped on a twig, wondering if that would be what led the town to them.

But the woods stayed eerily still. She would think she heard footsteps, but Kim wouldn’t seem any more worried than she had been, so she’d tell herself it was nothing. It had to be nothing.

A clearing appeared in the near distance, and Kim relaxed. “We can rest there,” she said. She’d barely taken another step when an arrow drove into her arm.

She cried out and toppled onto Jacqueline, who had to stifle a scream of her own. She’d barely processed what had happened when Kim righted herself. “Run!” Kim hissed. She began to stumble forward, and when Jacqueline hesitated she tugged at her arm. “I’m a healer, you idiot, I can deal with this once we’re safe. But if they catch us again, we’ll have much bigger problems.”

Her point was punctuated by another arrow flying past Jacqueline’s shoulder and embedding itself in a tree. Jacqueline decided that now would be a good time to start running.

They made it several minutes without any more arrows flying from the trees, and Jacqueline began to think that maybe they were safe. She wouldn’t want to stop running, but she looked to Kim to see if they could slow down a little.

Kim’s face was very pale. She’d barely been keeping up with Jacqueline when they started running, and she’d only slowed since. As Jacqueline watched, she stumbled over her own feet and collapsed altogether. Jacqueline raced to her side, sick to her stomach. “Kim!” She shook her shoulders desperately. She could only hope that they’d managed to lose their pursuers.

Kim’s hands were shaking when she reached for Jacqueline’s. “I think that arrow was poisoned,” she said. Jacqueline’s stomach dropped. “I thought I’d be fine, but it’s acting a lot faster than I’d expected. I don’t know if I can fix this without my supplies, and most of those are back at the cottage…”

“We have to go back,” Jacqueline said immediately. She refused to think about what might happen if they didn’t. “I can carry you, and then you can get your things and it will be fine.”

“Do you know the way back? I was a little distracted with running for our lives.” Kim laughed weakly. “This is where I should tell you to leave me behind, but honestly, I really don’t want to die.”

Kim’s face blurred. Jacqueline realized she was crying, and she scrubbed at her fast hastily. “You’re not going to die, Kim. I’m going to get you back, and you can heal yourself, and it will all be okay. We’re going to fix this.”

There was a cry from behind Jacqueline. “There they are!” Some shuffling. “The witch is already down. Now’s our chance to kill that Uncanny bitch!”

Jacqueline barely registered the words through her despair. This couldn’t be happening, not now, not after everything Kim had done for her. She couldn’t just sit back and watch as the only person she had left in the world died because she’d tried to help her. She couldn’t take it, it was too much, and she refused to let it happen.

Kim’s hand was hot against her skin.

Something inside Jacqueline snapped. She stood up carefully, turned around, and thrust her hands out in front of her. This time, she was not surprised to see the jets of flame that burst out to lick at the gathering crowd. “Enough!” she yelled. She noted distantly that her voice didn’t sound like her own, raspier and more commanding. “Are you happy now? You’ve managed to poison an innocent girl, and now she’s dying! Does that make you feel powerful?”

Her glare swept across the faces of the mob. “You’re so afraid of anything you don’t understand, so you make your excuses and tell yourselves that you’re just trying to protect yourselves. Well, congratulations. You don’t have to worry about the evil witch of the woods anymore.” She summoned another flame, holding it in one hand. “Now, if you really want to stay safe, I suggest you turn around and leave. Otherwise you’re going to find out who the dangerous one really is.”

She flared her fireball once again. For one horrible instant, she thought that it wouldn’t be enough, but the crowd dispersed almost immediately. Jacqueline maintained her pose until she was sure that everyone was gone. Then she sank to her knees, anger spent.

She wanted nothing more than to sit there and have everything stop for a little while. But Kim was still lying on the ground by her, and Jacqueline refused to think about what would happen if they didn’t find her supplies soon. She pulled herself reluctantly to her feet and went to help Kim up.

Kim’s face was twisted in pain, but she managed a smile when she saw Jacqueline. “It looks like you finally found something to be passionate about. Don’t worry, I love you too.” Her eyelids fluttered and closed.

Jacqueline bit back a sob. Kim was still breathing, albeit shallowly, but at the rate the poison was progressing she might not be for long. Jacqueline picked her up carefully. She was probably just conserving her strength so she could heal herself when they got back to the cottage. That was all.

She repeated it like a mantra as she walked back to where she thought the cottage was. The journey seemed endless, each step lasting an eternity. Jacqueline kept having to stop to reassure herself that Kim was still breathing. She couldn’t focus long enough to pay attention to her surroundings. If she’d failed to scare any of the mob away, they’d both be doomed, because Jacqueline would never notice in time.

She didn’t even notice the trees starting to thin until she reached the bottom of a valley and saw that she was out of the woods altogether. She would have screamed if she’d had the breath. This was her one chance to save Kim, but she’d failed her. She was still just sheltered and spoiled and entirely useless. Kim had tried to help her anyway, and now she was dying for it.

A blonde figure appeared from over the hill. Jacqueline wouldn’t normally be inclined to trust a stranger, but at that moment she would accept help from Kim’s evil mother if it meant saving Kim’s life. She lifted Kim slightly higher. “She’s been poisoned. Please, help her.”

The woman ran the rest of the way to them. Her single eye was wide with shock and concern. She took Kim gently, as if she weighed nothing, and turned back to the hill she’d come down. “Franken!” she yelled. “I have a patient for you!”

A man appeared atop the hill. He looked remarkably unconcerned about all the yelling. Jacqueline felt her anger returning. How dare he seem so casual? Didn’t he know that the only person Jacqueline had left was dying? He would probably have been part of the mob if he’d known about it.

He leaned over Kim thoughtfully. “Yes, that does look unpleasant.” He looked to Jacqueline. “Do you know what did this to her?”

She fought the urge to scream at him. As satisfying as it would be to break his insufferable calm, she couldn’t risk antagonizing him. She drew on years of etiquette lessons and answered as politely as she could. “She said it was poison, but I don’t know what kind.”

The man hummed thoughtfully. “Ah well. I suppose I can work with that. Now tell me, what is she?”

“What does it matter?” Jacqueline spat. It was probably her own fault to think that a stranger would be willing to help two girls who were obvious Fey, but the question made her sick to her stomach. She imagined how satisfying it would be to light him on fire.

He regarded her levelly. “I don’t want to poison her further in my attempts to cure her. If she’s a werewolf and I decide to give her wolfsbane, she’s going to have a problem.”

She deflated. She would probably have felt embarrassed about it if she wasn’t so filled with terror and rage and a thin sliver of hope that refused to die. “She’s a witch.”

The man nodded. “She’ll probably pull through, then. In my experiences, witches are too stubborn to die quietly.” He took Kim from the woman’s arms and walked away.

Jacqueline moved to follow him, but was stopped when the blonde woman put a hand on her shoulder. “Franken doesn’t really like having an audience, and you should probably try to take your mind off it anyway. She’s not going to get better any faster because you’re worrying about her.”

“But what if –” Jacqueline cut herself off. She probably shouldn’t imply that Kim’s savior might be a bigot, no matter how anxious the idea made her. “Okay,” she said instead. “Thank you.”

The woman smiled. “Don’t worry. Like he said, I’ll bet she’s too stubborn to let this keep her down.” When Jacqueline’s expression didn’t change, the woman leaned in conspiratorially. “And let me let you in on a secret.” She lifted her skirts, revealing a fox’s tail.

Jacqueline’s eyes went wide. Her first instinct was to get away, that if the woman wasn’t human then she couldn’t be trusted. The thought filled her with disgust even as she had it. It wasn’t like she was entirely human herself, so being prejudiced was even more stupid for her than for most people. And the fact that the woman was also Fey just meant that Kim was probably in safe hands, which was what really mattered.

She managed a smile. “Thank you for trusting me,” she said.

The woman shrugged. “Given the circumstances, it wasn’t exactly a risk. Anyway, I should probably introduce myself. I’m Marie Mjolnir, and my husband over there is Franken Stein.”

“Nice to meet you,” Jacqueline said automatically. “I’m Jacqueline Dupre, and my friend is Kim Diehl.”

“Nice to meet you,” Marie said cheerfully. “I just wish it was under better circumstances. Anyway, come with me, you must be exhausted.”

She led Jacqueline to their camp, which was just on the other side of the hill. They’d set up a fire pit and some tents. When Jacqueline sat down, Marie got out some snacks. “I don’t know if you’re hungry, but you should probably have something before you crash.”

Jacqueline ate in silence, staring into the unlit fire pit. She wasn’t sure if the lack of fire was disappointing or relieving. She had just made her way through a bag of fire pit when Stein walked over to join them. She was on her feet immediately. “How is she?”

“Still unconscious,” Stein said. “But her fever’s gone down. I’m assuming she’s a healer, so when she wakes up she can do the rest for herself.”

Jacqueline’s legs almost gave out under her. She sat back down heavily, just barely keeping herself from bursting into tears again. She distracted herself by latching onto what Stein had just said. “How could you tell that she was a healer?”

“There aren’t many reasons to carry around an assortment of herbs and potions like that. Either she’s a healer, or she’s close friends with one, and since you’re clearly not, she was the obvious answer.” He took a bag of trail mix for himself.

Jacqueline’s relief took a momentary backseat to her confusion. “Wait, did you go through her bag?”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “It was a useful source of information. I assumed you’d rather I didn’t give her a dangerous dose of antivenom if I could avoid it.”

She was a little creeped out by how little he seemed to think of going through a stranger’s things, but he did have a point. It didn’t matter that much anyway. She moved on to more pressing matters. “Can I go see her?”

“Knock yourself out.”

Jacqueline headed in the direction Stein had just come from, only to almost trip over Kim. It looked like Stein had just left her lying on the ground. Jacqueline considered moving her, but she could probably use the rest. For that matter, with the last of the adrenaline leaving her system Jacqueline was ready to pass out herself. She made do with sitting at Kim’s side and waiting.

With nothing to do but wait and watch Kim, Jacqueline suddenly remembered what Kim had said right before she’d passed out. Jacqueline blushed at the memory. Kim must have been delusional at that point, making an off-color joke to distract herself from the pain. It wasn’t like it meant anything. They barely even knew each other. They were just friends. Jacqueline only cared because Kim was her friend.

And now she was going to stop thinking about it, because this was just getting silly. She shouldn’t have any reason to care either way.

Besides, she’d had a long day, and now that she wasn’t panicking it was beginning to catch up to her. She could stand to close her eyes for a moment. Kim probably wouldn’t wake up soon, and even if she did Jacqueline would be right there.

The next thing she knew, she was jolting awake at the sound of Kim groaning. She stood up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

Kim opened her eyes, wincing at even the dim evening light. “Okay, this is terrible, give me a moment.” A faint glow traveled down her body, winking out of existence when it reached her feet. “That’s better.”

She stood up and dusted herself off. “Well done back there, by the way. You were incredibly badass.” She looked away, her voice suddenly full of emotion. “And thank you for saving me.”

Jacqueline looked at the ground. “I didn’t do that much. Mr. Stein was the one who healed you.”

“And you’re the one who fought off an entire mob to keep me safe, and then apparently carried me here.” Kim clapped a hand on Jacqueline’s shoulder. “I think you’ve earned some thanks.”

Jacqueline could feel her face flushing. Kim kept looking at her, waiting for her to agree, so she finally whispered, “You’re welcome.”

“Good!” Kim looked around. “Now, where’s that Stein guy? I should probably thank him, too.”

Jacqueline led Kim back to the camp, where Stein and Marie had started a fire and were cuddling by it. Marie waved them over. “I’m so glad you’re doing better!”

“Yeah, I hear I have you to thank for that?” Kim crossed her arms. “So, uh, thank you.”

Stein nodded. “Welcome back to the land of the living.”

“What are you going to do now?” Marie asked.

Kim and Jacqueline looked at each other. At their obvious lack of an answer, Marie continued, “You could always come with us for a little while. We’re just wandering at the moment, but we’d be happy to have you, at least until we come to a town.”

Stein did not look particularly happy about that idea, but he didn’t object, and it was a very kind offer. Jacqueline was about to thank her when Kim cut in. “Actually, we’ll be fine on our own. We wouldn’t want to slow you down or anything.”

“If you’re sure…” Marie looked skeptically at Jacqueline, but she wasn’t going to contradict Kim. “Let me at least give you some advice. We both come from Death City, which is just a bit south of here. The people there are really accepting of the Fey. If you want to go there, you’ll be safe.”

Kim nodded. “Thanks. See you around!”

“Thank you so much,” Jacqueline said. “Good luck with your travels!”

She rushed after Kim, who was walking away quickly. Jacqueline waited until they were out of earshot to ask, “Why didn’t you want to go with them? Ms. Mjolnir seemed nice, and they were actually prepared for traveling. We don’t have any supplies of our own.”

Kim looked fixedly ahead of her. “Yeah, but I’m already in their debt. I really don’t need them holding that over my head, let alone doing even more for me.”

“Are you sure? She seemed really nice, I don’t think she would have demanded you repay her suddenly.”

Kim grimaced. “Hey, I don’t think I mentioned it, but I think I might know what your heritage is,” she said abruptly.

Jacqueline could recognize a distraction when she heard one, but she could also recognize a sensitive subject. She wasn’t going to drag Kim into another uncomfortable conversation like that. Her burning curiosity about her own nature may also have helped. “Really? How?”

“I don’t suppose you can try to summon a fire right now, could you?”

Jacqueline thought about it. “I would probably pass out if I did.”

“Fair enough. Anyway, I obviously can’t be sure yet, but I think you’re probably part dragon.” Kim’s tone was casual, as if she wasn’t upending Jacqueline’s world yet again.

Jacqueline struggled to get her brain around that idea. “What?”

“Well, both times you’ve managed to use your powers so far, it’s been to protect something.” Kim grinned. “That combined with the fire thing sounds pretty draconic to me.”

“But…” Jacqueline had a million questions. She decided to start with the most obvious one. “Aren’t dragons giant flying lizards? I feel like I would notice if I were a giant flying lizard.”

“Eh, a lot of them are also shapeshifters. Your parent might have been in a human form when you were born, and then you’d never have had the opportunity to get scaly.” Kim paused. “We should totally have you try shapeshifting later. It would be useful to do, not to mention insanely cool.”

“Right,” Jacqueline said in a small voice. Shapeshifting. Of course. Because she was apparently part dragon. She decided it was her turn to unsubtly change the subject. “So are we headed to Death City?”

“Nah. I don’t think I’ll be lucky enough to find an abandoned cottage twice, but I do want to see what else is out there before I settle in a city.” She looked up. “Though given the time, we should probably start looking for someplace to spend the night. Keep an eye out.”

Jacqueline looked around. “What am I looking for?”

“Hmm, I guess you’ve never had to sleep outside, have you.” Kim frowned for an instant, then brightened. “In that case, it’s time for round two of basic life skill lessons. You seem like you were the sort of kid who enjoyed extra lessons anyway.”

Jacqueline wanted to protest, but it wasn’t like she wasn’t looking forward to continuing her lessons with Kim. She smiled instead. “Yeah, yeah. Where do we begin?”


End file.
